That Ain't Love
by kpy424
Summary: It turns out that an old friend of Haruhi's has been attending Ouran. What happens when Haruhi introduces her to the host club, and Kyouya finally realizes that there are some people he can't intimidate and manipulate. KyouyaxOC.
1. Chapter 1: What are you doing here?

**After about a year and a half of reading other people's fics, I've finally decided to write one of my own- so here it is**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Ouran characters.**

Haruhi glanced through the sea of bizarre yellow dresses that were, for some strange reason, the mandatory girls' uniform at Ouran. She saw that most of them belonged to regular customers, but there were also a few new girls, just as there were on most days.

The club gained new customers all the time since many of the girls who were nervous, embarrassed, or slightly repulsed by the idea of the host club would finally decide to try it (or be forced to by friends). Contrary to popular belief, every girl at Ouran didn't just swoon when one of the hosts walked by and flock to the club whenever they got a chance. Most of them had to come around to the idea of having handsome boys pretend to like them, but the power of the hosts isn't as misperceived as the personalities of the girls they cater too. Once a lady visits them, she is rarely able to resist the spell they seem to cast.

Among the new customers (who would likely become regulars), was a face that Haruhi seemed to recognize. It took her a second to realize who she was seeing, but once it hit her, Haruhi was on her feet heading toward the familiar girl.

"Sorry to interrupt," Haruhi said to the small group of chattering newcomers, "but I was wondering if I could speak to Kazumi-san for a moment." Haruhi gave them the natural smile that was slowly paying off her debt, and the girls gladly acquiesced, getting their first taste of the charm that inhabited the host club.

Haruhi turned to Kazumi, a girl of big blue-gray eyes and long hair that resembled Haruhi's in color. The face that Haruhi had recognized had dropped into a rather astonished expression that was morphing into a smile as she was led away from the others.

"What are you doing here?" Haruhi asked in a half excited, half accusatory tone.

"Why are you dressed as a boy?" was the response she received, but after getting a 'don't answer my question with a question, I asked you first' glare, Kazumi replied "I go to school here; I have since the beginning of the year. I can't believe I haven't seen you yet. I had no idea this was the school you got the scholarship to."

"I knew you were coming back to Tokyo, but I had no idea that you would be coming here," Haruhi said, her expression now revealing her unusual excitement. "I'd give you a hug, but you can see how that could be bad."

"Yeah, this is an interesting group of people that come here," Kazumi agreed "but we can talk later. You have some customers to attend to, which, by the way, you'll have to explain to me when you get the chance."

"Alright, come back here after activities are over for the day. I should be able to talk then," Haruhi instructed her before turning away to attend to her host duties for the day.

**Sorry for the short first chapter, but I hoped I aroused a little curiosity.**


	2. Chapter 2: Who is she?

**I don't have anything to say right now, so I'll just jump right in**

**Disclaimer: The Ouran gang isn't mine.**

"So, Haruhi-kun, why did you want to talk to Kazu-chan earlier?" one of the girls from Kazumi's group of newcomers asked. It turned out that this girl, Nariko, had brought Kazumi to the club, and since Nariko had designated Haruhi, Kazumi had followed.

Haruhi smiled and replied "Well, Kazumi-san and I attended the same elementary school and junior high."

"You seem to know each other very well, though, especially for being in different grades," one of Haruhi's regulars commented.

"We're actually distant relatives as well." Haruhi clarified. "Our mother's were cousins, but we were once rather close since neither of us has any siblings or even first cousins."

"Why haven't we seen you two speaking before then?" the same regular asked.

"We haven't spoken for a few months, so neither of us knew the other went to this school," Haruhi answered. "Since I'm a first year student and she is a second year student, our paths never crossed."

"It must be a very nice surprise to discover that you two are attending the same school again," Nariko said happily. "But, Kazu-chan, if you two went to elementary and middle school together, you must have gone to a commoner school, right?" she questioned rather tactlessly.

"Yes, my parents sent me to normal schools my entire life," Kazumi replied.

"So why did you come here?" another girl asked.

"Well, my parents are taking a two year trip around the world," Kazumi began. "I decided I'd rather stay in school than go with them and have to do some sort of tutoring, so I'm staying with my grandparents now, and they insisted on sending me here," she continued. "Actually, I wasn't even living in Tokyo for the past three years, meaning my grandparents have had little control over my life, so now they want to start training me to take over the business."

"So that's why you didn't go here last year?" another of Haruhi's regulars asked.

"Exactly," Kazumi answered.

The group moved on to another topic once it was clear that Kazumi wasn't romantically involved with Haruhi. Kazu began to pay less attention once she wasn't a major focus of the conversation anymore. She looked around the room at the other hosts and the girls they were entertaining. She had heard enough about the host club to tell who each of them was. There were Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin, the matching pair of faces making verbal love to each other close by, Hunny and Mori, the mismatched pair of seniors at the sweets table, Kyouya Ootori, the calm brains of the operation on his laptop, and, of course, Tamaki Suoh, the club's enthusiastic president wooing girls left and right.

Kazumi had some acquaintance with Tamaki and Kyouya already, since they were both in her class. Having been the top student at her old school, Kazu held some resentment toward both of them for holding the top spots here. But she couldn't possibly hold it against Tamaki. He was just so ridiculously nice and childishly charming. Kyouya was another story. Despite his tendency to keep his host smile on in school, Kazumi couldn't help but feel that he was rather smug and took his academic supremacy for granted.

Right as her opinion of him was floating through her head, Kazumi realized that she had been repeatedly glancing in Kyouya's direction. It wasn't like she was staring at him or anything, but he had taken notice. His host smile turned into a smirk and he seemed to be silently laughing at her for a second before turning his attention back to the computer screen.

'_What in the world is he laughing at?! I'm not crazy; he is a smug bastard,'_ Kazumi thought as she unhappily tried to refocus on the conversation occurring right in front of her.

--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--

When the host club was done for the day, Kazumi left the Third Music Room with her friends and parted with them in the halls, heading back to the room to find Haruhi.

"…name is Kazumi, and I just found out she went here," Haruhi was finishing, in a tone that just barely betrayed her excitement, as Kazumi approached the door.

"My beautiful daughter is so happy!!" Tamaki shrieked in a tone that was much more obviously enthusiastic as everyone noticed that Kazumi had returned.

She walked over to Haruhi and hugged her. "I'm allowed to do that since the rabid fangirls are gone, right?" she asked.

"Yes, it's fine," Haruhi replied while the hosts stood around, Tamaki and the twins wishing they were hugging Haruhi. "Guys, this is Kazumi" she added, turning to the others.

"How could I not have noticed the lovely resemblance between you and our dear Haruhi sooner!?" Tamaki greeted, his host personality turned back on.

"Thanks, I think," Kazu half mumbled, a bit puzzled and rather amused by Tamaki, having never seen his true personality in class, but the smile restored to her face as Honey bounded toward her with a piece of cake.

"It's nice to meet you, Kazu-chan," Honey said. "Want some cake? It's really good."

"Depends. What kind is it?" Kazumi replied with a grin.

"You do look a lot like Haru-chan when you smile, Kazu-chan. You're so pretty. Isn't she, Takashi?" Honey went on without answering the question.

"Ah," Mori replied in agreement.

"Thanks, it's very nice of you to say that," Kazumi replied, part politely and part trying not to laugh. '_He sure forgot about the cake fast,_' she laughed to herself, '_but he's so damn cute,_' as the twins put their arms around her.

"What a fun new toy," Hikaru declared.

"But, Hikaru, I thought you were only interested in me," Kaoru responded sadly.

"Nothing can ever replace what we share, Kaoru," Hikaru said while grabbing his brother as if to kiss him, but a stifled laugh broke through their favorite act.

"I think I'm gonna have fun with you two," Kazumi said, laughing at the absurdity of the act that so many of her classmates loved.

The twins looked at her in surprise. "Looks like she really will be interesting," Hikaru finally said.

"I guess so," Kaoru added.

"Mommy, aren't you going to greet Haruhi's friend?!" Tamaki whined at Kyouya, who was still busy with his laptop.

"Hello Yakichi-san. How have you been since class today," Kyouya asked in a half charming, half sarcastic voice to please Tamaki.

"Fine, thanks," Kazu replied in the same tone. '_Yup, he may be as good looking, but this guy is definitely not like the others._'

**I hope I'm doing well so far. I'll gladly take any comments and criticism. Well, not any. I'm pretty opposed to any criticism that isn't constructive. How about chapter length? Does anybody have a specific preference as to whether I do shorter chapters and update more, or are longer chapters with a longer wait better?**


	3. Chapter 3: Can I help?

**I'm hoping to actually get into some of the interesting stuff soon. Also, I just edited chapter 2 a tiny bit so that the explanation of who Kazumi is isn't so thickly packed into two big paragraph quotes. Hope everyone enjoys.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Ouran characters.**

After exchanging pleasantries with the club, Kazumi and Haruhi finally had a chance to talk. They left the clubroom, and headed down the hall to leave for the day.

"So how in the world did you end dressing as a boy and hanging out with that group of misfits?" Kazumi questioned.

"I broke a vase," Haruhi answered simply.

"I'm not sure I understand what that has to do with it", Kazumi said, confused.

"Well, I wandered into the host club at the beginning of the year when I was looking for somewhere to study," Haruhi explained, "and I was a little shocked at what I had walked into. In my surprise, I bumped into and broke a really expensive vase. Now I'm working to pay them back for it."

"So they decided to dress you as a boy just so you could repay a debt?" Kazumi questioned skeptically.

"Actually, they thought I was a boy at first," Haruhi clarified.

"I guess that makes it a little better," Kazumi started, "but it's still kind of ridiculous to make you pretend you're a boy."

"I don't really mind though," Haruhi said, "It doesn't make much of a difference to me."

"You wouldn't, would you," Kazumi said, giggling, "It's very like you to be completely careless about people knowing your true gender."

"I guess I haven't changed much then," Haruhi said in answer, as they stepped out the front door.

"Do you want a ride home?" Kazu asked.

"It's fine," Haruni answered, "I walk all the time."

"Come on, that limo my grandparents make me take is big and empty," Kazumi coaxed, "and we have plenty to catch up on."

Haruhi sighed, "Fine, but just today."

The two girls got into the car and dove into a conversation full of stories covering the time since they had last talked. Haruhi told Kazu all about the host club (much of which made Kazumi smile to herself, realizing things that Haruhi didn't about the hosts' feelings toward her), and Kazu told Haruhi about her own transition into the life of rich business families. When the limo reached Haruhi's home, the girls parted reluctantly.

"Hopefully, I'll see you tomorrow," Kazumi said as Haruhi got out of the car.

"You should come to the club again. Then we'll be sure to see each other," Haruhi replied.

"Sure, I'll see you then," Kazumi said. "Bye, Haru-chan."

Haruhi smiled, "Bye, Kazu-chan."

--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--

The next day marked six weeks that they had been in school. Class 2-A had a policy of changing assigned seats every six weeks. The class's desks were set up so that every two rows were grouped together, and the person who sat next to you was your partner on all two person projects. They also had a system for larger group projects.

For the first month and a half of school, Kazumi had been partnered with Nariko, her first good friend at Ouran. She was hoping that her next partner would be someone she could become good friends with as well.

When the students entered the classroom in the morning, there was a list posted of the new seating arrangement. Kazumi checked the list in saw that her new partner was none other than Tamaki Suoh.

She wasn't sure how to feel about this because she knew that Tamaki was a good student, but she was also aware of how…interesting his personality was. Kazu was pretty sure that sitting next to Tamaki was going to be very different from sitting next to Nariko. As she contemplated the oddities of Tamaki Suoh, Kazumi took her seat, preparing for class. A minute later, Tamaki sat down next to her.

"Good morning, Tamaki-san," Kazumi greeted.

"Good morning, Kazumi-san," Tamaki replied, smiling as he sat down. "It looks like we're going to be working together for a while."

"Yes, I'm looking forward to it," Kazumi said, not sure if she was lying or not. After all, she was interested to see what working with Tamaki would be like, but she wasn't exactly excited. Then again, Tamaki seemed to be a little more sedate during school hours. It probably won't be too bad to work with him.

Deciding that her curiosity justified her reply, Kazu turned to Tamaki. "I was wondering if I could talk to you about something, Tamaki-san," she said.

"Like what?" he asked politely.

"Well, it's about Haruhi," Kazumi said. "I know that he," she continued, putting a bizarre emphasis on the word 'he', "owes quite a large debt to the host club, and I was wondering if I could help him repay it."

"Do you mean helping to work it off?" Tamaki questioned confusedly.

"Yes," Kazumi replied. "I know that Haruhi was originally going to pay off the debt by doing chores for the club. I was thinking that I could do chores while Haruhi hosts, and my work would subtract from what she owes you."

"If you're concerned about Haruhi's debt, then why don't you just pay it off? It's not like you don't have the money," Tamaki reasoned.

"That's where you're wrong," Kazu answered. "My grandparents have the money, and there's no way they would give me money for this. They've never even met Haruhi."

"I see," Tamaki began, "but you'll have to speak to Kyouya about your idea. I may be the king, but all financial decisions flow through him." Kazumi grimaced a bit. Seeing this, Tamaki added, "But if it counts for anything, I'll tell Kyouya that I support the idea of you helping your dear, commoner cousin escape financial crisis and servitude."

'_I guess the dramatic Tamaki is always lurking just beneath the surface, no matter how normal you think he's acting,_' Kazu thought, trying to contain her laughter, but then she frowned. '_Great, now I have to talk to the dark prince, not that I didn't see this coming._'

**Sorry it's another short chapter, and it took a bit longer this time. I'll try to make a nice long one next, cause I'm leaving for several days soon. I just want to find the perfect way to get Kyouya and Kazumi's relationship going. I know it's a bad habit, but I started this fic without really planning things out much. I've been thinking up this story for a long time, but these awkward transition phases aren't something I tend to consider in great detail.**


	4. Chapter 4: Will you let me help?

**Time for the good stuff! Here goes nothing.**

**Disclaimer: The Ouran characters don't belong to me.**

Kazumi sat through an uneventful day of school and an even more boring host club session, watching girls fawn over Haruhi. When the girls left for the day, she stuck around to speak to Kyouya.

While Haruhi cleaned up, Kazu walked over to the vice president. "Excuse me, Ootori-san," She began, causing Kyouya to take the smallest amount of attention away from his notebook to listen to her. Kazumi realized that this was him rather rudely inviting her to continue. "I was wondering if there is any way that I could do some chores for the club in order to help Haruhi repay her debt sooner," she declared.

Kyouya paused. "There are a few issues with that," he began, actually raising his head to look at her. "First, I believe that your working with the club would bother many of our customers."

"I really don't think it would, though," Kazumi said. "I find that the majority of your customers would see me as a cute accessory to club activities if I was dressed for the theme. Those customers who are less adoring in their preferences will likely be amused by someone of their level working as a servant."

"Well, if you act as well as you argue, then there will be no problem with how the customers perceive you, but that isn't the only issue," Kyouya responded.

"What else?" Kazumi asked, knowing the answer.

"Haruhi has become an asset to our club and we would rather that she didn't pay off her debt too quickly," he admitted.

"I can assure you that, no matter how little she shows it, Haruhi has come to enjoy working with the club," Kazu answered. "Repaying her debt is only to give her the option of being able to leave the club and to make it so she doesn't have to submit to any ridiculous demands in hopes of lowering what she owes."

"Surprisingly enough, you present a thorough argument," Kyouya told her arrogantly, turning back to his notebook, "so I'll allow you to work for us on a trial basis. Come here before club activities start tomorrow and I'll see what sort of work we need done."

"Thank you, Ootori-san. I'll see you tomorrow," Kazumi replied as politely as she could. She turned to walk away, only to find Haruhi being harassed by Tamaki and the twins.

"Fun's over for today, boys," Kazu declared as she pulled Haruhi out of the mess.

For a second, Tamaki was focused on how relieved he felt to see Haruhi removed from the clutches of the lecherous twins, but then he remembered what he and Kazu had discussed earlier that day.

"So what did Mother think of your compassionate plans for hard work and dedication to your beloved cousin, Kazumi-san?" he questioned, going into soap-operas-as-real-life mode.

"Mother is Kyouya, right?" Kazu asked a confused Haruhi, who gave her a nod. "He agreed to allow it on a trial basis," she told Tamaki.

"Agreed to allow what?" Haruhi asked skeptically.

"Allow me to do chores for the club," Kazumi answered slowly, realizing that she probably should have asked Haruhi if this arrangement was alright with her.

"Why would you want to do that?" Haruhi continued to question.

Kazumi grimaced nervously before answering. "Well, to help you pay off the money you owe to the club."

"What?!" Haruhi exclaimed rather angrily. "Why would you do that without talking to me first?"

"It actually just occurred to me that I should have done that," Kazu admitted. "I just wanted to help you."

Haruhi calmed down a bit, seeing that Kazumi was regretting having forgotten to speak to Haruhi about the situation. "That's very nice of you, Kazu, but I got myself stuck with this debt, and I plan to pay it back myself."

"Haruhi, why can't you just let me help you?" Kazumi began. "Besides, we'll be able to spend more time together this way. Also, I don't see how me helping you in this way is any different than Tamaki or any of the others offering you some of the debt-lowering deals that you said they have. Seriously, Tamaki can half your customer quota if you learn the waltz, but I can't do some chores to help you out," she finished.

Haruhi sighed, "I guess it's fine, if you really wan to do this."

"Thanks, Haru-chan," Kazu said and hugged her, "and I'm sorry I didn't tell you about this before taking the idea to Tamaki."

"It's fine," Haruhi responded, hugging her back.

"How lovely," Tamaki cried, jumping in to join the hug, but as he did so, the two girls separated and he landed on the floor.

Haruhi gave Tamaki a how-stupid-can-you-get look while Kazu laughed at him crawling into his dark corner.

'_I think this might be fun after all,' _Kazumi decided.

**Sorry, but this is all I have time to write for now. In the morning I'm leaving to go to Soulfest with my friend's family. For anyone who doesn't know, Soulfest is a four day Christian concert series. Personally, I'm not incredibly religious or particularly interested in Christian music, but I think it will be fun. I hope to have a long chapter ready for everyone once I get back.**


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